Hand scanner with moveable platen

ABSTRACT

A hand scanner according to the invention may obtain an image of the hand and fingers including the bracelet crease/carpel delta area and palm surface regions up to the tips of the fingers using ultrasound measurement techniques. A hand scanner according to the invention may include a movable arcuate platen and an energy transducer. In a method according to the invention, the transducer may be moved back and forth while moving a platen surface in order to advance the hand and thereby produce a raster type scan image. In this manner, the image of the hand print may be collected as a raster image representative of the scanned surface of the friction ridge skin.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. provisionalpatent application Ser. No. 60/637,314, filed on Dec. 17, 2004.

GOVERNMENT INTEREST

The United States government provided funding related to this inventionvia U.S. Department of Justice, contract no. DEA-01-C0028, and theUnited States government may have certain rights in the invention.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to capturing an image representing thefriction ridge surface of the hand, which may include the palm regionand fingers, from the area of the bracelet crease/carpel delta region ofthe hand to the finger tips.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Since the 1800's fingerprint information has been collected from humanfingers and hands by means of ink and paper. For purposes of thisdocument, the term “fingerprint” is used to mean the skin surfacefriction ridge detail of a portion of a hand, such as a singlefingerprint, or the entire hand. In recent years various electronicfingerprint scanning systems have been developed utilizing optical,capacitance, direct pressure, thermal and ultrasonic methods. Methodsbased on ultrasound have proven to be highly accurate, since they areinsulated from the effects of grease, dirt, paint, ink and other imagecontaminants.

In an ultrasonic system, a piezoelectric transducer may be used to sendan ultrasonic wave through an ultrasound transmitting media, such asmineral oil. In ultrasonic fingerprint scanners, the ultrasound wave isstarted and stopped to produce a pulse. At each material interfaceencountered by the pulse, a portion of the pulse reflects. For example,the interface between a platen and skin or the interface between air andskin may each reflect a portion of the pulse. The fraction of ultrasoundreflected is a function of differences in impedance between the twomaterials comprising the interface. The fraction of ultrasound reflectedcan be calculated by the equation, R=((Z₁−Z₂)/(Z₁+Z₂))², where R is thefraction of sound reflected, Z₁ is the acoustic impedance of the firstmaterial and Z₂ is the acoustic impedance of the second material.Acoustic impedance is a measure of a material's resistance to thepropagation of ultrasound. Acoustic impedance, Z, is defined as Z=r·c,where r is the material density, and c is the longitudinal propagationvelocity of ultrasound in the material. The larger the change inacoustic impedance, the larger the fraction reflected.

The reflected wave pulses may be detected by the transducer. The elapsedtime during which the pulse traveled from the transducer to theinterface and back may be determined. The elapsed time may be used todetermine the distances traveled by the pulse and its reflected wavepulses. By knowing the distance traveled, the position of an interfacemay be determined.

There may be many interfaces encountered by the emitted pulse, and sothere may be many reflected wave pulses. Since it is the interfacesassociated with a finger that are of interest in generating an image ofa fingerprint, it may be necessary to identify those reflected wavepulses that are associated with the finger. The approximate position ofa finger being scanned may be known, and therefore the pulse reflectedfrom the finger may be expected during a particular time interval. In atechnique commonly referred to as “range gating”, a detector may beconfigured to ignore reflected pulses that are not received during thattime interval. Signals within the expected range may be interpreted tobe reflected either from a ridge or a valley of the fingerprint. Forexample, those signals reflected from a ridge will be received beforethose signals reflected from a valley. The reflected signals associatedwith the finger may be processed and converted to a digital valuerepresenting the signal strength. The digital value may be used toproduce a graphical display of the signal strength, for example byconverting the digital values to a gray-scale bitmap image, therebyproducing a contour map of the finger surface which is representative ofthe depth of the ridge structure detail.

Collecting information using an ultrasound transducer is usuallyaccomplished by moving the ultrasound transducer side-to-side whileadvancing the transducer in a direction that is different from theside-to-side motion. Such an arrangement is commonly referred to as araster scanning process. As the raster scanning process proceeds, theultrasound raster scanning mechanism collects each pixel of imageinformation individually, and records those pixels for use in generatingan image of the fingerprint.

The prior art scanners are not able to scan more than a small portion ofa hand. Since unique identifying features may be found in many areas ofthe hand, a scanner is needed which can provide information about largerareas of the hand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A hand scanner according to the invention may obtain an image of thehand and fingers, including the bracelet crease/carpel delta area andpalm surface regions up to the tips of the fingers, using ultrasoundmeasurement techniques. A hand scanner according to the invention mayinclude a movable arcuate platen and an energy transducer. Thetransducer may be moved back and forth while moving a platen surface inorder to advance the hand and thereby produce a raster type scan image.In this manner, the image of the hand print may be collected as a rasterimage representative of the scanned surface of the friction ridge skin.

The invention may be embodied as a method. In one such method, a movablearcuate platen is provided. The platen may be movable in a firstdirection, which is substantially about an axis of rotation. An energytransducer may be provided. The transducer may be movable in a seconddirection, the second direction being different from the firstdirection. A hand may be placed on the platen, and the platen may bemoved in a first direction so as to move the platen and the hand aboutthe axis of rotation. The energy transducer may be moved in the seconddirection, and energy from the transducer may be sent toward the hand.At least some of the energy may be reflected from the hand, and receivedby the transducer. The reflected energy received by the transducer maybe used to produce an image of the hand.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention,reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and the subsequentdescription. Briefly, the drawings are:

FIG. 1A, which is a plan view of a scanner according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 1B, which is a side view of the scanner depicted in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C, which is an end view of the scanner depicted in FIG. 1B;

FIG. 2, which depicts part of a scanner according to the invention;

FIG. 3, which depicts a method according to the invention;

FIG. 4, which depicts a set of scan lines corresponding to a methodaccording to the invention;

FIG. 5, which depicts another set of scan lines corresponding to amethod according to the invention; and

FIG. 6, which depicts another set of scan lines corresponding to amethod according to the invention.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention may be embodied as a hand scanner 10. The scanner 10 maybe used to measure and image the friction ridge surface detail of thehand. A scanner 10 according to the invention is depicted in FIGS. 1A,1B and 1C, and a portion of that scanner 10 is depicted in FIG. 2. Thescanner 10 may include a smooth synthetic-resin imaging surface orplaten 13 that contacts the friction ridge skin surface of the hand. Theplaten 13 may be movable about an axis of rotation 16. In moving theplaten 13, a hand on the platen 13 may be similarly moved by the platen13. The platen 13 may also be arcuately shaped. For example, the platen13 may have a cylindrical shape.

The invention may include one or more transducers 19. The use of morethan one transducer 19 may allow for gathering of information quicker.Further, for a given housing 22 size, the use of more than onetransducer 19 may allow for a scanned image that is wider than thatproduced by a single transducer 19.

The platen 13 may be made from a material that permits energy from thetransducer 19 to pass through the platen 13. For example, if the energytransducer 19 is an ultrasonic transducer, the platen 13 may be madefrom polycarbonate.

In an embodiment of the invention, a support platform 25 may beincluded. The support platform 25 may be in contact with the energytransducer 19. For example, the support platform 25 may contact theplaten 13 via one or more rollers 28. The energy transducer 19 may besupported so as to keep the transducer 19 at a desired distance 34 fromthe platen 13. The distance from the transducer 19 to the platen 13 maybe important in order to obtain an accurate image. The support platform25 may be maintained in contact with the platen 13 by the use of aspring 31 that forces the rollers 28 against the platen 13. In thismanner, the distance 34 between the transducer 19 and the platen 13 maybe kept to a relatively constant value.

Small adjustments to the transducer-to-platen distance 34 may beaccomplished by changing the length of the support platform 25. Once thetransducer-to-platen distance 34 is optimized for focus and imageclarity, the length of the platform 25 may be locked and furtheradjustment prevented.

In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, two rollers 28 are shown—one ateach end of the support platform 25. By keeping the rollers 28 incontact with the platen 13, the platen 13 is allowed to move relative tothe support platform 25 and the transducer 19, while the distance 34between the transducer 19 and the platen 13 remains substantiallyconstant. To reduce the distance between the transducer 19 and theplaten 13, the rollers 28 may be moved closer to each other. To increasethe distance 34 between the transducer 19 and the platen 13, the rollers28 may be moved further from each other. Consequently, the length of thesupport platform 25 may be altered in order to adjust the distance 34between the platen 13 and the transducer 19.

The energy transducer 19 may be movable relative to the platen 13. Amotion control system 37 may be provided for oscillating one or moretransducers 19 along a substantially linear path near the surface of theplaten 13. The linear path may be substantially parallel to the axis ofrotation 16. In such an embodiment, if a hand is placed on the platen 13so that the fingers are oriented perpendicular to the axis of rotation16, then as the hand is moved by the rotating platen 13, the transducer19 may move from left to right and from right to left as part of aneffort to gather information about the hand.

Precise movement and measurement of the instantaneous position of thetransducer 19 may be accomplished by the use of an optical encoder 40and linear code strip 43, a linkage 47 and an oscillating rotarysolenoid 51. The precise measurement and monitoring of the platen's 13position may be accomplished by the use of another optical encoder 53and code wheel 56, and a motor and gear system 59 that create and trackrotation of the platen 13.

The inner chamber created by the housing 22 and platen 13 may be filledwith an ultrasound transmission media 62, which may be mineral oil. Arotary seal 65 may be placed between the housing 22 and the platen 13. Apiston type seal may be used for this purpose. The seal 65 may provide aleak-resistant mechanism that may allow rotary relative motion betweenthe housing 22 and the platen 13.

There may be a need to allow for expansion and contraction of the systemcomponents. An elastomeric bellows 68 may be included in order tocompensate for the mismatch in coefficients of thermal expansion betweenthe system components, for example the housing 22, the housed componentsand the ultrasound transmission media 62.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method according to the invention. In that method,a hand may be scanned, and the information gathered by the scanningoperation may be used to create an image that represents the skinsurface of the hand. Precise measurement of the instantaneous positionof the transducer or transducer array and the position of the platen mayallow an electronics system, which controls and monitors the positions,to collect data necessary to create an image of the skin surface of thehand. A computer software system suitable for displaying and extractinginformation from the image may be used for comparison of the gathereddata to other fingerprint and handprint data, which may be available indatabases associated with an identification system.

In one method according to the invention, a movable arcuate platen isprovided 100. The platen may be movable in a first direction 71, whichmay be substantially about an axis of rotation. A transducer may beprovided 103, and the transducer may be moveable in a second direction74 that is different from the first direction 71. A hand may be placed106 on the platen.

In one embodiment of a method according to the invention, when it isdesired to gather information about the hand, the platen may be moved109 about the axis of rotation. In this manner, the hand may also bemoved about the axis of rotation. The transducer may be moved 112relative to the platen while sending 115 energy toward the hand. Forexample, the transducer may be moved in a second direction 74 that issubstantially parallel to the axis of rotation. The energy may bereflected 118 from the hand, and the reflected energy may be received121 by the transducer.

The energy may be in the form of ultrasonic energy pulses. Each pulse ofenergy may be sent and received from a different location, therebyproviding a series of data corresponding to different locations of thehand. If enough data is taken, an image of the hand may be produced 124,and that image may depict the friction ridge surface details of thehand.

The energy transducer may be moved 112 in the second direction 74 untilit reaches a desired end location 85. In FIG. 6, one of the endlocations 85A for the transducer 19A is identified, and one of the endlocations 85B for the transducer 19B is identified. Once the endlocation is reached, the transducer may be moved in a third direction77, which may be opposite to the second direction 74. In this manner,the transducer may be moved back and forth in order to gatherinformation about the hand, which may be used to produce 124 an image ofthe hand.

In one embodiment of a method according to the invention, data about thehand may be gathered for use in producing 124 an image while thetransducer is moving in the second direction 74 only. Any informationthat may be available for use while the transducer is moving in thethird direction 77 may be ignored. FIG. 4 depicts scan lines indicatingthe locations from which data may be gathered by two transducers. Itwill be noticed from the scan lines, that as the transducers move 112 inthe second direction 74, the platen may also be moving in the firstdirection 71, hence the lines appear slanted. FIG. 5 depicts scan linesthat may result if the platen remains stationary while the transducermoves 112 in the second direction 74. In FIG. 5, the lines are notslanted. If the platen remains stationary while the transducer moves 112in the second direction 74, then the platen may move 109 in the firstdirection 71 after the transducer reaches a desired end location 85, forexample, the platen may be moved 109 in the first direction 71 while thetransducer moves in the third direction 77. In each of FIG. 4 and inFIG. 5, one of the end locations 85A corresponding to transducer 19A isidentified, and one of the end locations 85B corresponding to transducer19B is identified.

In another embodiment of the invention, information about the hand maybe gathered while the transducer is moving in both the second direction74 and the third direction 77. If the platen remains stationary whilethe transducer is gathering information, the scan lines from which datamay be gathered by the transducer may look like those shown in FIG. 6.The scan lines of FIG. 6 are those that would be traced by using twotransducers. It will be recognized from FIG. 6, that when the transducerapproaches an end 85 of desired travel, the speed of the transducer maybe slowed, and the platen may be moved 109. If the transducer is stillmoving while the platen is moved 109, the scan line may angle forward asshown by the portion indicated by feature number 83. If desired,information about the hand may be ignored during the time that the scanline angles forward. Once the platen moves 109 into position to allowscanning along the next scan line, the platen movement may be stoppedand the transducer's direction of travel may be reversed. Then thetransducer may send 115 energy toward the hand and receive 121 reflectedenergy from the hand, and that received energy may be used to produce124 an image of the hand corresponding to the scan line. If enough datais gathered for each scan line, and enough scan lines are used, theimage of the hand may be precise enough to present the friction ridgedetail of the hand to a viewer.

During a scanning operation, a microprocessor may synchronize andcontrol the interaction of the scanning motion and signal processing ofthe transducer. For example, if the desired scanning resolution is 500lines per inch, then to gather the information about the hand, a motorworking through a set of gears may rotate the platen forward then stopat a distance equal to the desired resolution, 0.002 inches. At thistime, the rotary solenoid may move the probe arm 80, having thetransducers mounted thereon, along a linear path (for example), beneaththe surface of the platen. During this time, the microprocessor mayreceive information about the position of the probe arm 80 from theinteraction of the code strip and the optical encoder. When the probearm 80 reaches an area at each end 85 of the reciprocating probe arm 80desired sweep, the platen may be advanced so as to rotate the platen bya predetermined amount. While the probe arm 80 is in these end areas,the transducer signal may be ignored and the motor may move the platen acircumferential distance sufficient to provide the scanning resolution,in this example 0.002 inches, so that the next scan line may be parallelto the last scan line. As the probe arm 80 returns through the activescanning sector of its sweep, the microprocessor may trigger thetransducer to send out an ultrasound pulse and listen for its return.

Each ultrasonic pulse from a transducer may be triggered by a signalfrom an optical encoder indicating that the probe arm 80 is at its nextpositional information point. The code strip may be constructed suchthat the distance between code marks is equal to or an integral multipleof the desired resolution.

The event triggering a request to the microprocessor to initiate ascanning operation can be indicated in several ways. Examples include:(1) a contact switch may be pressed by the operator, or (2) a proximitydetector indicating that a finger or hand is on the platen may be used,or (3) a listening operation by the ultrasound transducer may be usedwhereby, several times per second the transducer sends and receives atest pulse to check for the presence of a finger, hand or other objecton the platen surface.

It will be recognized that embodiments of the invention may allow for animage of the hand to be any desired length. By rotating the platen, aperson's hand may be gently pulled along while the transducers sweepsubstantially perpendicular to the hand movement, thereby allowing for araster scan of a desired length. For example, image information may becollected from the tips of the fingers, through the palm continuing onto the carpel delta region, the bracelet crease where the hand joins thearm at the wrist, and could continue on to reach the elbow of the arm,if desired.

U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/637,314 discloses additionaldetails about the invention and additional embodiments of the invention.The disclosure of that patent application is incorporated by thisreference.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to one ormore particular embodiments, it will be understood that otherembodiments of the present invention may be made without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present invention. Hence, the presentinvention is deemed limited only by the appended claims and thereasonable interpretation thereof.

1. A hand scanner, comprising: an ultrasonic energy transducer; a movable arcuate platen configured to accommodate a hand on the platen, the platen configured to move about an axis of rotation and about the energy transducer, and configured to accommodate moving the hand about the axis of rotation; and, a support platform having rollers in contact with the platen, a first of the rollers being positioned near an end of the platform and a second of the rollers being positioned near another end of the platform, and thereby configured to maintain a distance between the transducer and the platen as the platen moves relative to the support platform; wherein the energy transducer is configured to move relative to the support platform and the platen, and in a direction that is substantially parallel to the axis of rotation, and wherein the energy transducer is configured to send energy to the hand, and receive energy from the hand.
 2. The scanner of claim 1, wherein the support platform is in contact with the energy transducer.
 3. The scanner of claim 2, wherein the support platform has a length that can be altered in order to adjust a distance between the platen and the transducer.
 4. A method of scanning a hand, comprising: (a) providing an ultrasonic energy transducer; (b) providing a movable arcuate platen, the platen being movable substantially about an axis of rotation; (c) providing a support platform having rollers in contact with the platen, a first of the rollers being positioned near an end of the platform and a second of the rollers being positioned near another end of the platform, and thereby maintaining a distance between the transducer and the platen as the platen moves relative to the support platform and relative to the energy transducer about the axis of rotation; wherein the energy transducer is movable relative to the support platform and the platen along an axis substantially parallel to the axis of rotation; (d) placing a hand on the platen; (e) moving the platen so as to move the platen and the hand about the axis of rotation; (f) moving the energy transducer in the a first direction; (g) sending energy toward the hand; (h) reflecting at least some of the energy from the hand; (i) receiving the energy reflected from the hand to provide reflected energy; and (j) using the reflected energy to produce an image of the hand.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising moving the energy transducer in a direction opposite to the first direction.
 6. The method of claim 4, further comprising repeating steps (f) through (i) while the transducer is moving in the opposite direction.
 7. The method of claim 4, further comprising stopping the platen while the energy transducer is moving in the first direction. 